Stories reflect the best, worst of Chicago

When it comes to news, it's hard to recall a bigger week for Chicago than the one that just ended.

In the space of a few days, Chicago made the short list of cities contending to host the 2016 Olympic Games, Barack Obama wrapped up the Democratic presidential nomination, and a federal jury convicted Antoin "Tony" Rezko of 16 corruption charges related to his role as Gov. Rod Blagojevich's chief political fixer.

In its own way, each story goes to the core of who we are as a city and our place in the world, now and in the future.

The stories showed the best and worst of Chicago  the accomplishments we're capable of when we set out to achieve a goal, and the depths we can sink to when we succumb to our worst impulses. The Olympics and Obama stories represent opportunities to redefine Chicago in a positive way for the 21st century, while the Rezko story reinforces our 20th-century image as a den of old-time political corruption.

Making the Olympics short list proves a point most would have scoffed at 25 years ago, and many still do: Chicago is a global city on par with the likes of Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro. Winning the games could cement our standing on the world stage, wiping away the last traces of "second city" insecurity.

The rise of Mr. Obama, a Chicagoan, represents an even cleaner break with an unhappy aspect of our civic identity. A city long known for its racial divisions has produced the country's first black to be the presumptive presidential nominee of a major party.

Sadly, the Rezko verdict confirms that the dark side of our Midwestern pragmatism hasn't receded as we have advanced in other areas. Too many in Chicago remain willing to grease the wheels to gain advantage, and the broader populace still shrugs at corruption as an immutable feature of our social landscape.

We hope the opportunities reflected in the first two stories will inspire Chicagoans to reject the habits of mind that led to the third.